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Bedtime Creative Nonfiction Holiday

The distant sound of a closing door and its metal locks woke me. Blurry eyed and dazed I grasped at my blanket as I slowly removed it from me, body shivering as winter chill ran its hands over me. With a grumble I let my feet hang over the bed's edge, reaching for my slippers that I had haphazardly kicked off last night before I had settled in. 

“Of course.” I placed my feet down on the cold wooden floors and leapt to my slippers, sliding my feet into them as fast as I could. As I grabbed my padded hoodie from the bottom of the bed frame, I took in the silence of the apartment. No Christmas music blaring, no pots and pans left on the kitchen table that mom would use to put our Christmas dinner in. No dad playing the guitar in the living room while matching the song mom would put up on the television.

I stood in the middle of the living room, thinking about where my parents could have gone on Christmas day when I heard my phone go off. I trudged back to my room looking at the caller ID, the word MOM in bright white letters.

“Donnell, good morning.” 

“Good morning mom.” I flopped back on my bed, listening to the chatter of what I thought to be my aunt's voice in the background. “Where’d you and dad go? Didn’t know you had plans today.”

I heard my mother's laugh, distracted by something my aunt had said before her attention returned to me. “Didn't you get our message? I sent it to you just before we left in case you didn't wake up while we were leaving.” I checked my phone messages and true enough, there was one notification that had come from our family group chat.

“Good Morning Donnell. You're dad and I are driving you Aunt Tiesha up to Baltimore for the Christmas weekend. We will be back in two days. I've cooked some rice and tuna and left it for you on the counter top in case you get hungry. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself and the house while we're gone.” I read aloud. 

“And there you have it.” She said, “Is there anything you’ll need from us right now? Extra money in case you want to order something? Should I call your cousin in case you want to head over and spend some time with them?”

“That's alright mom, I think I'll be fine.” I reached over to my gaming chair for my controller and pressed the Playstation symbol, my dark room illuminating with a bright neon blue. “You and dad be safe then, let me know when y'all get there, alright? And tell Auntie I said I love her.”

“Will do Donny! I'll talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too, mother. Later.”

I put my phone down next to me and leaned against the bed frame, my controller hanging loosely from my hand. I cycled through the list of games I had downloaded, none of them calling to me as I suppressed a groan. So many games on this entertainment box and I could never find anything remotely fun to play. With no other option, I swapped to whatever streaming services I had and settled on Youtube. At the very least I'd have something to entertain me for a couple of hours, and Monty Zander would have to be the one to do just that.

I'd woken up later, my alarm buzzing in my ear. I reached for my phone, doing my best not to throw it out of the room and go back to sleep. The time was nine at night and I couldn't help the sigh that left my mouth. Once again I found myself sitting up against my bed's frame, the house silent and dark. 

I threw my robe over my shoulders, shuffling my cold body to the living room. The lights on the Christmas tree still burned- I hadn't turned them off since mom and dad left this morning- and I dropped onto the couch staring at them. I took in the silence a little more before looking around at the photos of myself and my family that were hung around the apartment. I moved to bring them all into the living room, lining them up in front of the tree and imagining that this would be the first christmas in a long time that we'd all be able to spend together again.

I sunk into the couch and sighed before closing my eyes.

The sound of my phone buzzing in my ears startled me and in spectacular fashion, I found myself face down on the floor, groaning at the throbbing in my body. And to think I might have been able to sleep through the day's end too. Grabbing my phone from its perch on the couch, I scrolled through the multiple missed calls from mom on my notifications. My finger hovered above the call button when my stomach growled.

“Right.” I said aloud, “I didn't eat when I woke up. Guess I'll call her back after I've eaten.” I raised my hands above my head, hoping to stretch my very stiff body when I caught a whiff of my armpits. “And a shower too.” I scrunched my nose as I grabbed a towel from my room and dashed to the bathroom.

After twenty minutes, I walked from the bathroom with my towel wrapped around me, picking up my phone and moving to the recent calls list. I shoved whatever mom had left for me in the microwave and called as my food began to heat up. It rang. And it rang. And it rang. Then straight to voicemail. I tried again and it rang until it went straight to voicemail again. The sound of the microwave jolted me out of my thoughts and I moved to take my food out.

My phone buzzed as I placed my plate on the table and I looked over the message:

Sorry Donny! I couldn't get to the phone, your dad and I are with a couple of your aunts and were going out to a restaurant to celebrate for the night. I hope that you made sure to eat something and didn't just play your games all day. Remember to lock the doors and wash the dishes when you're done using them. Your father and I love you very much son. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a good night.

I felt a small smile as I shoveled some rice into my mouth. Even with the deafening silence, I could still feel a little warmth in the fact that I would still get to spend Christmas with my parents in some way. My moms cooking and their love even if they weren't here with me.

January 08, 2025 23:10

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